I'm glad you enjoyed yourself!

I haven't dressed up for Halloween since I was about 10 or 11, and stick
to the way it was celebrated when I was a child rather than adopting the
increasing tendency to decorate houses and have adults - or at least the
unfortunate adults working in the places that expect them to - dress up
too. Unlike yours, my family is NOT noted for skill or interest in
costumes and costume party!

We always had it pretty strictly as a holiday for young children to
dress up and go from door to door getting candy, although some teenaged
boys sometimes participated. I don't remember any tricks, although my
grandfather had tales of tricks from his youth like overturning outhouses.

I haven't actually given out candy myself in years. Sometimes I lived in
out-of-the way places; most often, I was rarely home myself during the
busiest hours. Today, I live in an area with relatively few small
children, although some are brought in by car by parents to visit
specific houses where, I expect, relatives live. The only Hallowe'en
candy I bought this year was a couple of kindereggs in Hallowe'en
packaging for a child in a family I happened to be visiting anyway!

I think in a way Halloween is celebrated less than it was when I was a
child, in spite of the differences, like decorations for houses and
adults dressing up to work in stores, give out candy at home or go to a
party. There seems to be less of the door-to-door visiting than there
was when I was a child. But times change, and we're not only a more
mobile society, but one that tends to be a bit paranoid about children.

--
Cheryl